In applications such as image or video libraries, it is desirable to have an efficient representation and storage of the outline or shape of objects or parts of objects appearing in still or video images. A known technique for shape-based indexing and retrieval uses Curvature Scale Space (CSS) representation. Details of the CSS representation can be found in the papers “Robust and Efficient Shape Indexing through Curvature Scale Space” Proc. British Machine Vision conference, pp 53–62, Edinburgh, UK, 1996 and “Indexing an Image Database by Shape Content using Curvature Scale Space” Proc. IEE Colloquium on Intelligent Databases, London 1996, both by F. Mokhtarian, S. Abbasi and J. Kittler, the contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.
The CSS representation uses a curvature function for the outline of the object, starting from an arbitrary point on the outline. The curvature function is studied as the outline shape is evolved by a series of deformations which smooth the shape. More specifically, the zero crossings of the derivative of the curvature function convolved with a family of Gaussian filters are computed. The zero crossings are plotted on a graph, known as the Curvature Scale Space, where the x-axis is the normalised arc-length of the curve and the y-axis is the evolution parameter, specifically, the parameter of the filter applied. The plots on the graph form loops characteristic of the outline. Each convex or concave part of the object outline corresponds to a loop in the CSS image. The co-ordinates of the peaks of the most prominent loops in the CSS image are used as a representation of the outline.
To search for objects in images stored in a database matching the shape of an input object, the CSS representation of an input shape is calculated. The similarity between an input shape and stored shapes is determined by comparing the position and height of the peaks in the respective CSS images using a matching algorithm.
A problem with the known CSS representation is that the peaks for a given outline are based on the curvature function which is computed starting from an arbitrary point on the outline. If the starting point is changed, then there is a cyclic shift along the x-axis of the peaks in the CSS image. Thus, when a similarity measure is computed, all possible shifts need to be investigated, or at least the most likely shift. This results in increased complexity in the searching and matching procedure.
Accordingly the present invention provides a method of representing an object appearing in a still or video image, by processing signals corresponding to the image, the method comprising deriving a plurality of numerical values associated with features appearing on the outline of an object starting from an arbitrary point on the outline and applying a predetermined ordering to said values to arrive at a representation of the outline. Preferably, said values are derived from a CSS representation of said outline, and preferably they correspond to the CSS peak values.
As a result of the invention, the computation involved in matching procedures can be greatly reduced, without a significant reduction in the retrieval accuracy.